Associations between cognitive and affective empathy and internalizing symptoms in late childhood

KO Bray; V Anderson; C Pantelis; E Pozzi; OS Schwartz; N Vijayakumar; S Richmond; C Deane; NB Allen; S Whittle

Journal article

Associations between cognitive and affective empathy and internalizing symptoms in late childhood

KO Bray, V Anderson, C Pantelis, E Pozzi, OS Schwartz, N Vijayakumar, S Richmond, C Deane, NB Allen, S Whittle

Journal of Affective Disorders | ELSEVIER | Published : 2021

DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.04.034

Abstract

Background: Empathy is a multidimensional construct, which includes cognitive and affective components. Studies in adults have demonstrated that both cognitive and affective empathy are associated with anxious and depressive symptoms. The aim of this study was to examine these associations in childhood. Methods: Participants were 127 9- and 10-year-old children, recruited from the community. Self-report measures of cognitive and affective empathy, and internalizing symptoms were administered, as well as a task-based measure of cognitive empathy. Results: Canonical correlation analysis demonstrated that components of affective empathy, specifically affective sharing and empathic distress, wer..

View full abstract

University of Melbourne Researchers

Vicki Anderson Author

Christos Pantelis Author

Elena Pozzi Author

Orli Schwartz Author

Related Projects (2)

Do family environments influence children's brain development during the transition to adolescence?

This project will investigate whether brain development during this period is affected by parenting behaviours, which will ultimately inform..

NEURODEVELOPMENTAL RISK FACTORS FOR DEPRESSION FROM CHILDHOOD TO EARLY ADULTHOOD

To understand who is at risk for depression, we need to understand how both the environment and biological factors promote risk at specific ..

Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Australian Research Council [DP130103551], the National Health and Medical Research Council (Career Development Fellowship to SW) [1125504]. KB was supported by The Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship and the William Georgetti Scholarship. VA was supported by an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Senior Practitioner Research Fellowship (1079478). The work was also supported by the Victorian Government Operational Infrastructure Fund.